REGINA - The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency provided its latest wildfire update, with news that more residents are being evacuated and more concerns that smoke could impact some Northern communities in the days ahead.
According to the latest update from SPSA President Marlo Pritchard:
As of 11 a.m. Monday there are 52 active wildfires. Of those, three are categorized as contained, 13 not contained, 20 ongoing assessment, 16 are listed as protecting values.
Saskatchewan has so far had 378 wildfires this year, which is well above the five-year average of 289.
Regarding fires of note:
The SHOE Fire in the Lower Fishing Lake area is 554,667 hectares. It is classified as not contained and there is a closure of highway 912 due to the fire activity.
The PISEW Fire, west of La Ronge, is current size 197,263 hectares and not contained.
The WOLF Fire, west of Denare Beach, is 159,903 hectares on the Saskatchewan side and classified as not contained.
The DITCH Fire, north of Weyakwin is 188,819 hectares, and categorized as not contained.
The MUSKEG Fire north of La Plange Reserve near Beauval, is currently 221,491 hectares. There are closures of Highway 918 and Highway 165 from Junction 155 to Junction 914.
The BUHL Fire is currently 38,216 hectares, with 31,218 hectares being outside of the Prince Albert National Park. The fire is in the northeast corner of the Prince Albert National Park, and there is a closure to Highway 916. It was noted the fire has been fairly stable, with no increasing threat to the communities in the vicinity such as Ramsey Bay, Waskesiue and Montreal Lake.
The TRAIL Fire, which is west of Beauval, is currently 18,597 hectares. There have been intermittent highway closures due to fire activity in the area.
As for evacuations, there are eight communities who are either under an evacuation order or a voluntary evacuation order.
Currently there are approximately 2,800 individuals being evacuated or supported by family and friends in the province. Those communities include the Resort Subdivision of La Plonge, the Northern Village of Beauval, Jans Bay, Resort Subdivision of Little Amyot Lake, La Plonge First Nations, Patuanak - English River First Nation, Canoe Lake, Canoe Narrows, Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Northern Village of Pinehouse, Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay, and Île-à-la-Crosse. There is also a voluntary evacuation in the La Loche area, being supported by SPSA or MLTC.
The number of individuals evacuated is up from 1,700 the previous day, due to a recent addition of about 112 from Île-à-la-Crosse and another 20 from Cole Bay, and there was also a firming up estimates from Patuanak - English River of 500. The number also doesn’t include those from La Loche.
Pritchard also had a clarification on the highway closure of Highway 155, for which there is an advisory out. Pritchard noted that as mentioned last week, parts of Highway 155 are closed due to wildfire activity.
“Southern parts of the highway are not open to public access due to the risk, but we are ensuring that essential travel and supplies are getting through to the La Loche and Northern communities. And those vehicles are being piloted through those critical areas to ensure safety of all those involved.”
The fire ban remains in place due to the extreme fire risk and that encompasses the area north of the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River.
There are a number of firefighters or support staff in from out of province, including firefighters from Quebec, Australia, Mexico, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, as well as two planes from Quebec. They are also getting approximately 23 firefighters from New Brunswick later today, and there are 14 fire departments either actively assisting or en route to assist on the west side of the province. There are also 182 Type Three firefighters from communities, assisting in mop-up operations.
Smoke is main threat to La Loche
Regarding the fire threat to La Loche, Vice President of Operations Steve Roberts said the PARK fire is about 14.5 kilometers north of La Loche in the Clearwater River Park, with current size estimates to be 20,900 hectares.
“We have already taken measures to look at control lines between the fire in the community of La Loche and the Clearwater River Nation adjacent to La Loche,” said Roberts. He adds the biggest concern in the short term “is actually smoke.”
“Should we see an expected shift of winds coming from the north, it will push smoke from that fire at the community. So they are targeting high-risk, long-term care individuals at this time. It is not an access issue through the fire to the south. As Marlo mentioned, we are guiding essential traffic and supplies through at this time. So that is not the reason for the evacuation, it’s more of a potential proactive smoke evacuation at this time. Should the fire escalate, of course, they may also escalate their alert.”
Pritchard did confirm there were evacuations out of the La Loche hospital, but those are priority individuals. He noted that with respect to evacuations, they in constant communication with the leadership of La Loche and those communities.
“And it's up to the community to decide whether they want to expand their current evacuation. At this point in time, it's a voluntary evacuation." He added they will "support those individuals that voluntarily want to leave the community due to smoke or due to health issues. And we will continue to work with that community over the coming days.”
Roberts said they will be monitoring this fire, using weather forecasts and their fire-behavior specialists, as to where this fire might be in 24, 48, or 72 hours. They will share that information with the community. The threat, if the wind shifts, is from smoke which could impact those with respiratory issues, those who are pregnant, as well as babies or children.
“So it's a dynamic situation. And as Marlo said, we'll directly deal with the community with what we know and what we expect. And they'll make some decisions about the health and welfare of their citizens on their behalf.”
Regarding the BUHL fire, Roberts said their “collaborative unified command system is targeting this fire and keeping it closer to containment. It has not had a lot of spread and we will continue to do that.”
As for Île-à-la-Crosse, Roberts said residents are leaving “strictly from a health, smoke-related issue” and the fire is not currently a direct threat to the town.
